ICTlogy

Abstract:

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is an emerging concept in public administration and digital governance, referring to shared digital systems that support service delivery, foster innovation, and enable social and economic development. This paper develops a conceptual framework to define and measure DPI, addressing its growing global policy relevance. Using a grounded theory approach, the study integrates insights from literature and expert interviews to provide two key contributions. First, it offers a normative framework to trace the attributes of the concept, discussing its qualities in terms of its technology, public-interest values, and adoption context. Second, it offers a measurement framework to evaluate the presence of these attributes in real-world DPI implementations. Second, it offers a measurement framework to evaluate the presence of these attributes in real-world DPI implementations. The insights from this conceptual and measurement framework contribute to the ‘DPI Map,’ an ongoing global research project by the authors, aiming to document how countries build their DPI functions globally. The paper bridges theory and practice on DPI, providing concrete guidance for government officials, technical implementers, civil society organisations and researchers to advance their work in this evolving field.